Open Question: Drug addiction & prison sentences?

There is a young man that I know who has been addicted to crack cocaine for a long time. He went to prison nearly 4 years ago, was just released to a work release program then with the intense pressure put on him to obtain employment under very stringent regulations and in a very depressed economy along with the fact that his mother is dying a very horrible death, he requested to be sent back to his previous facility to serve the remainder of his sentence. That request was rejected, 2 days later he obtained crack and got high out of desperation. He was caught and sent back to prison. Now the dept of corrections wants to charge him with up to 15 years for possession on a correctional facility.
He is in solitary confinement for 150 days which in my opinion is cruel and unusual punishment.

My question is what are the legal options in this case.

PLEASE DO NOT ANSWER THIS QUESTION IF YOU ARE UNINFORMED OR A CHILD. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SITUATION!
Diane B
You give me hope! I would like to get more info from you and share more details with you. Would you please email me as your profile page does not allow emails? Thank you so much!
Oops! I mean Diana